16.2 GNU and Linux

The GNU Project was formed to develop a free Unix-like operating system,
GNU. The existence of this system is our major accomplishment.
However, the widely used version of the GNU system, in which Linux is
used as the kernel, is often called simply “Linux”. As a result, most
users don’t know about the GNU Project’s major accomplishment—or more
precisely, they know about it, but don’t realize it is the GNU Project’s
accomplishment and reason for existence. Even people who believe they
know the real history often believe that the goal of GNU was to develop
“tools” or “utilities”.

To correct this confusion, we have made a years-long effort to
distinguish between Linux, the kernel that Linus Torvalds wrote, and
GNU/Linux, the operating system that is the combination of GNU and
Linux. The resulting increased awareness of what the GNU Project has
already done helps every activity of the GNU Project recruit more
support and contributors.

Please make this distinction consistently in GNU software releases, GNU
documentation, and announcements and articles that you publish in your
role as the maintainer of a GNU package. If you want to explain the
terminology and its reasons, you can refer to the URL
https://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html.

To make it clear that Linux is a kernel, not an operating system,
please take care to avoid using the term “Linux system” in those
materials. If you want to have occasion to make a statement about
systems in which the kernel is Linux, write “systems in which the
kernel is Linux” or “systems with Linux as the kernel.” That
explicitly contrasts the system and the kernel, and will help readers
understand the difference between the two. Please avoid simplified
forms such as “Linux-based systems” because those fail to highlight
the difference between the kernel and the system, and could encourage
readers to overlook the distinction.

To contrast the GNU system proper with GNU/Linux, you can call it
“GNU/Hurd” or “the GNU/Hurd system”. However, when that contrast
is not specifically the focus, please call it just “GNU” or “the
GNU system”.

When referring to the collection of servers that is the higher level
of the GNU kernel, please call it “the Hurd” or “the GNU Hurd”.
Note that this uses a space, not a slash.